{"id":6830,"date":"2025-02-17T17:03:14","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T17:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/russia-reportedly-frees-american-kalob-byers-detained-for-alleged-cannabis-as-trump-seeks-ukraine-deal\/"},"modified":"2025-02-17T17:03:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T17:03:14","slug":"russia-reportedly-frees-american-kalob-byers-detained-for-alleged-cannabis-as-trump-seeks-ukraine-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/russia-reportedly-frees-american-kalob-byers-detained-for-alleged-cannabis-as-trump-seeks-ukraine-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia reportedly frees American Kalob Byers, detained for alleged cannabis, as Trump seeks Ukraine deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Russia has freed a U.S. citizen arrested earlier this month on drug smuggling charges, according to Russian media reports and a U.S. official who spoke with The Associated Press. The move appeared to be an effort to ease tension between Moscow and Washington ahead of <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/marco-rubio-russia-ukraine-peace-talks-face-the-nation\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">talks in Saudi Arabia<\/a><\/span> on Tuesday, which are expected to focus on the <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/ukraine-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">war in Ukraine<\/a><\/span> and the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p> Kalob Byers, 28, was detained on Feb. 7 at Moscow&#8217;s Vnukovo airport after customs officials allegedly found cannabis-laced gummies or marmalade in his baggage. It was unclear from Russian media reports exactly what the purportedly-laced food products were.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to the reports, Byers had traveled from Istanbul with his Russian fiancee, who was also detained. The authorities said he had attempted to smuggle a &#8220;significant amount&#8221; of drugs into the country and put him in custody on the charges of drug smuggling, punishable by a prison term of up to 10 years.<\/p>\n<p> Byers has been released from custody and is in the U.S. embassy in Moscow where he is awaiting a flight home, Russian independent news outlet Meduza reported Monday, citing a Facebook post by his parents. A U.S. official confirmed to the AP that Byers was released to the embassy late on Sunday evening. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive matters.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\"><span class=\"img embed__content\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" alt=\"Russia American Detention \" height=\"413\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/02\/17\/0389fa6a-4323-428e-8c20-802f967e9196\/thumbnail\/620x413\/30aae8992ec904101287d890241653d3\/kalob-byers-ap25046544692870.jpg?v=f303dc12868a012283443d8b9123e5fe 1x, https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/02\/17\/0389fa6a-4323-428e-8c20-802f967e9196\/thumbnail\/1240x826\/f55a821093660e8fc49e7f74d339dda8\/kalob-byers-ap25046544692870.jpg?v=f303dc12868a012283443d8b9123e5fe 2x\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\"><span class=\"embed__caption\">A photo taken from video released by the Moscow City Court Press Service on Feb. 15, 2025, shows a U.S. citizen identified as Kalob Wayne Byers, who was detained on Feb. 7 after airport customs officials allegedly found cannabis-laced marmalade in his baggage, sitting in a cage during a session in the court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                AP\/Moscow City Court Press Service<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday in response to a question about Byers that Moscow expected &#8220;to discuss restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations&#8221; at the talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, &#8220;so certain events can be viewed in this context.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters Monday, however, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that, from the U.S. government&#8217;s perspective, the conversations in Riyadh would be focused largely on the Ukraine war.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are a multitude of issues, obviously, that we&#8217;re all interested in, but there is this larger issue of Ukraine that matters to everyone, and certainly it matters to President Trump,&#8221; she said. &#8220;He has made very clear that it&#8217;s [the war] got to stop.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t immediately clear Monday whether Byers&#8217; fiancee had also been released. Russian media reports identified her as Naida Mambetova and said she was placed in pre-trial detention on the same charges.<\/p>\n<p> Arrests of American nationals in Russia have become increasingly common in recent years, with relations between Moscow and Washington sinking to Cold War lows over the war in Ukraine. Some have been released in prisoner exchanges. The most <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/marc-fogel-released-russia-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">recent one included Marc Fogel<\/a><\/span>, a teacher from Pennsylvania imprisoned in Russia on charges similar to those Byers had faced.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-video embed--type-content_video is-video embed--float-left embed--size-medium \"><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/video\/attorneys-for-marc-fogel-describe-clients-release-from-russian-captivity\/\" class=\"embed__headline-link\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>          <span class=\"embed__icon\"><br \/>\n            <svg viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><use xlink:href=\"#icon-video\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/p>\n<p>          <span class=\"embed__headline\">Attorneys for Marc Fogel describe client&#8217;s release from Russian captivity<\/span><\/p>\n<p>          <span class=\"embed__video-duration\">08:35<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                      <\/a><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Fogel was detained in 2021 when traveling to Russia to work at a school and handed a 14-year sentence for having what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana. He was released and brought back to the U.S. earlier this month in a swap that saw <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/u-s-sends-cybercriminal-to-russia-in-prisoner-exchange\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Alexander Vinnik<\/a><\/span>, a Russian cryptocurrency expert who faced Bitcoin fraud charges in the U.S., returned to Russia.<\/p>\n<p> The release of Fogel and Byers come as tension between Russia and the U.S. appears to ease.<\/p>\n<p> President Trump on Wednesday upended three years of U.S. policy toward Ukraine and Russia, saying he and Russia&#8217;s President Vladimir Putin had <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/trump-putin-russia-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">agreed to begin negotiations<\/a><\/span> on ending the conflict following a lengthy direct phone call.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- data-recirc-source=\"chartbeat\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation component--type-recirculation-collection\">\n<p>                  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/feature\/ukraine-in-turmoil\/?intcid=CNI-00-10aaa3a\" class=\"component__view-more component__view-more--sm\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\"><br \/>\n            More<br \/>\n            <svg viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\" class=\"icon__caret-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><use xlink:href=\"#icon-caret-down\"\/><\/svg><\/a><br \/>\n                    <\/aside>\n<p><!-- tags --><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/russia-us-kalob-byers-released-marijuana-marmalade-trump-ukraine\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russia has freed a U.S. citizen arrested earlier this month on drug smuggling charges, according to Russian media reports and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[2606,157,226,1579,852,400,988,800],"class_list":["post-6830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-stories","tag-cannabis","tag-donald-trump","tag-marijuana","tag-moscow","tag-russia","tag-ukraine","tag-vladimir-putin","tag-war"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ 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